Archive for the ‘excavator’ Category

People operate heavy equipment everyday; but its not everyday that you see someone dance with heavy equipment. French dancer, Philippe Priasso, performs an experimental dance number with a Komatsu digger (excavator)…yes, you heard correctly. The piece is entitled, “Transports Exceptionnels,” and was created by the French dance group, Compagnie Beau Geste…(click on the image for video and complete article)

Man dances with construction equipment

The Transports Exceptionnels have performed roughly 3,000 shows in public areas around the world!

At the MINExpo 2008 in Las Vegas, Liebherr announced the R 9800 Mining Excava-tor. Rated at 800 tons of service weight the R 9800 provides a nominal bucket capacity of 38 to 42 m³ at a material density of 1,8 t/m³. This new flagship of Liebherr mining excavators’ range is targeting bucket loads of 75 tons in both versions, as a backhoe and a shovel execution.

Liebherr is providing for the machine two engine options, two Cummins QSK 60 with a installed power of 1,492 kW / 2,000 hp each or two MTU 12V4000 with a installed power of 1,425 kW / 1,910 hp.

Whilst the backhoe digging envelope and bucket width remain similar to the previous Liebherr flagship, the R 996, the R 9800 in backhoe configuration provides a break out force of 1,840 kN with a digging force of 1,750 kN. In shovel configuration, the machine is achieving crowd forces at ground level of 2,980 kN and breakout forces of 2,350 kN. These values ensure superior digging capabilities even in toughest mining conditions.

The first units of the new flagship are currently in the final stages of factory testing and the first machine is soon due for operation in Australia.

The Giant Excavator

To get an idea of how big this excavator is, keep in mind that most excavators range from just under 2 tons up to over 100 tons. The ones you see on the side of the road probably weigh anywhere from 5-60 tons. In more practical terms, this 800 ton excavator weighs as much as approximately 100 full grown African elephants, or as much as approximately 15 Boeing Jets!

Save on Construction Equipment just announced the launch of its new website, saveonheavyequipment.com. The new site, powered by Ebay, is to offer “pre-owned heavy equipment, available online for discount prices.” Users can bid on heavy equipment regularly (Backhoe Loaders, Crawler Dozers & Loaders, Trailers, Asphalt & Concrete Pavers, Lifts, Graders, Cranes, Excavators, Wheel Loaders, Stump Grinders, Wood Chippers, etc.). In addition, there are also attachments, parts, and even manuals available to buy. There is the “bid option” and also a “buy now” option for some of the products. Click here for the original press release.

Although online auctions may not appear to be the best way to sell/purchase heavy equipment and parts, some have found it efficient and had good success. The city of Cottage Grove, MN has found that they get better trade in value through selling used equipment on Ebay than through local auctions. The city management analyst, Brian Voelker, states that they can get 200-300 users from across the United States by listing items on Ebay, compared to roughly 20 users at local auctions. Click here for the full story.

With e-commerce steadily increasing across the globe, it is vital for businesses to offer products and services online, even in the heavy equipment industry. With sites such as Save on Heavy Equipment, as well as others, you might just find the equipments or attachments you are looking for–at a competitive price!

New and Used Heavy Equipment Buyers and Sellers Introduced on Industrial Classifieds

The on-line B2B marketplace Industrial Classifieds, has launched a newly designed Web site specifically for construction equipment dealers, contractors and buyers of heavy construction equipment in North America and Europe.

Westborough, MA, June 28, 2008 –(PR.com)– Industrial Classifieds, an international business-to-business marketplace for the industrial and construction communities, and a division of the Industrial Leaders Group, today announced the release of its new Heavy Equipment Classifieds website at http://industrialsaver.com/classifieds/index.php/cat/2. According to Robert Huff, spokesman for the company, the site includes offerings to buy and sell a wide range of new and used heavy equipment from companies based in or serving the North American and European marketplace.

“With the launch of our new heavy equipment marketplace Industrial Classifieds now provides those in the market to purchase or sell heavy equipment the opportunity to meet potential suppliers and buyers all over the world,” said Huff. He added, “Whether one is seeking to buy heavy machinery locally or just looking to liquidate their own equipment, there are numerous social networking tools and other marketing resources available on Industrial Classifieds registered users are able to access at no charge.”

According to Huff, in effort to further its global reach, Industrial Classified will soon launch a specialized trade leads program enabling companies to submit RFQ’s to heavy equipment dealers and other suppliers in domestic and international markets. Huff explained the program will be designed to help develop trading partnerships among construction buyers and sellers worldwide with emphasis on Europe and North America. Details of the program is expected to be announced by mid-July at the company’s annual cookout to celebrate the first year anniversary of the Industrial Classifieds website being launched.

About Industrial Classifieds

Industrial Classifieds connects buyers and suppliers of industrial and construction products at http://www.IndustrialSAVER.com/classifieds. Users can post and explore free ads to buy/sell all kinds of industrial and construction equipment, machinery and supplies.

DUETZ, a leading independent gas and diesel engine manufacturer, has developed a hybrid power unit for heavy equipment. DUETZ claims the new unit has the potential to reduce fuel consumption by up to 30%. The unit is not only designed to reduce fuel costs and consumption, but CO2 emissions as well.

The Oklahoma College of Construction (OKCC) is now Oklahoma’s first, and currently only, National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) authorized training center for competent person training in trenching and shoring. We are proud to promote trench safety here in Oklahoma and around the nation. With an estimated 10 to 15 deaths per year in each state in trenching accidents, and with OSHA now requiring a competent person to be on-site whenever excavating, there is now a nationally recognized training center in the heart of Oklahoma and the nation.

Troy Rouse, director of corporate training and an instructor, got the ball rolling on this a few months ago. Previous to Troy’s work here at the OKCC, he started his own training company in Michigan and managed it for 10 years. During this time Troy served on the Michigan OSHA Advisory board and became a member of NUCA. He is also certified as an OSHA Construction Outreach Trainer and as a Trench and Shoring Competent Persons Instructor for NUCA.

When Troy started working here 5 months ago, he realized that there was no NUCA training center for trenching and shoring in Oklahoma. Having extensive knowledge and experience with NUCA training programs, he brought up the idea and possibility for the OKCC to become the first training center for NUCA in Oklahoma. Campus President Jerry McGinnis agreed that his was a valuable opportunity for the college. After months of working out the details things finally went through, and now everything is set in place. A big thanks to Troy for taking the initiative and getting things worked out with NUCA.

In addition to his previous work in Michigan, Troy also served as a heavy combat engineer for the U.S. Army and was employed in Iraq as a Heavy Equipment Trainer. He is also a certified NCCER instructor in heavy equipment operation.

Since early 2007, the National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) has been filming, editing, and distributing videos on heavy equipment throughout the world-wide web. Now that nearly 100 videos are distributed, people from the industry to the general public viewer can become more familiar, knowledgeable, and aware of the different kinds of heavy equipment and about the association that trains and educates people to operate that equipment—NAHETS.

NAHETS heavy equipment videos are found on almost every video distribution site on the web; however, there is a main video catalog where videos are listed and organized. Here you will find videos that profile various kinds of heavy equipment: backhoes, cranes, excavators, wheel loaders, and more. Some videos show student testimonials that explain their experience in attending NAHETS schools. Other videos talk about safety, job placement assistance, how to get started in becoming a heavy equipment operator. Complementary to the videos are links to related sites and an RSS feed for industry-related news.

In addition to the video catalog, internet users can type in keywords such as, “heavy equipment school” and “nahets,” to find videos on various distribution sites. You will also find other videos at NAHETS.com.

As to the purpose and mission behind heavy equipment video distribution for NAHETS, Matt Klabacka, executive director, said the following:

When it comes to learning and becoming familiar with a concept—especially heavy equipment operating—people always learn better when they can see something visual. It enhances the learning process. This is why NAHETS has visually-oriented websites and uses simulators in heavy equipment training. This is also why NAHETS is dedicated to distributing videos on the heavy equipment operating industry throughout the internet. Some may think it is not a bid deal, but there are people out there who will benefit greatly—from seeing—what heavy equipment operators do and where they can go in order to become heavy equipment operators.

The National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools (NAHETS) officially started in 2006. Its mission is to train, educate, certify, and provide job placement assistance for those aspiring to become heavy equipment operators. There are currently five NAHETS member schools and colleges across the country that have been in operation both before and after NAHETS was founded. These schools and colleges are united in providing the most skilled entry-level heavy equipment operators for the construction and heavy equipment industries.

“I’m from New England, Connecticut. I am 24 years old. I was actually eating breakfast with my mom and dad when they mentioned I should go to the Georgia School of Construction, member of the National Association of Heavy Equipment Training Schools, NAHETS, (www.nahets.com). They said they would pay for it and I took them up on it. The drive down from Connecticut was 1,000 miles, and it took me 18 hours. I found out about the Georgia School of Construction through the website. The difference was the website. It was very professional-it looked like something I want to be part of.

“I really didn’t know what to expect-I was a little nervous. They were talking about job placement; they were really stressing safety. One of the things they said it would take was a good attitude. You have to be at the school at 7 AM, you do 4 hours of book work then you break for lunch, then you get out to the site around noon and spend the rest of the day on the equipment. It’s just like playing in the dirt.

“We showed up at the site and they gave us our hard hat and safety glasses. They could not stress enough the safety. We went and familiarized ourselves with the equipment there and we walked around the equipment telling us about the pinch points, about the grease nipples, stuff like that.

“Our first week we went over safety, our second week we really got on the equipment and really learned how to operate it and basic stuff, our third week it was more of skilled operator stuff. Level I was about skidsteer(bobcat), backhoe, tractor, dumptruck, watertruck, front loader, safety, familiarizing yourself with the equipment, and skill training on 7 pieces of equipment.

“The school stressed that their biggest thing was job placement so I put my confidence in them. The school would make a lot of contacts for me, they would write me up a resume. They went on the computer for me the used their own contacts.

“I stayed at the suburban extended-stay hotel, it’s a decent place. There’s a lot of people in and out so there’s always something going on.

“The staff is great. Jay, he is like one of the guys. I feel like my ability is much greater than from when I started. I feel very comfortable on the equipment that I learned to operate.